Man facing charges in rape of boy, 10

Police responding to calls from alert neighbors who heard a 10-year-old boy's scream arrested a man they said kidnapped and sexually assaulted the child at knifepoint inside a Kingsessing rowhouse yesterday afternoon.

After he was apprehended while trying to flee from a home on the 1600 block of South 56th Street, Walter Vicks, 19, was taunted by incensed residents who watched as he was placed inside a police vehicle, neighbors said last night.

Police said Vicks lives in the house where the 10-year-old was attacked.

Vicks, who was treated at Mercy Hospital of Philadelphia for minor injuries he received when trying to escape, was in custody last night and was to be charged with sexual assault and related offenses, said police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore.

Police said the boy told investigators that he was riding his bike about 1:30 p.m. when a man armed with a knife grabbed him and forced him him into a nearby house - and then assaulted him. The boy, whose name was not released, said his school had early dismissal yesterday.

Neighbors heard the child's screams during the assault and phoned 911.

Officers arrived moments later and encountered the 10-year-old who told them about the attack - and that the suspect was still in the house.

"They [officers] entered the house and he [suspect] fled on foot and was apprehended a short distance away after a brief struggle," said Vanore, adding that investigators also recovered the knife allegedly used in the attack and other evidence.

"I saw the cops bring him out; he was a strong one and was really resisting," said Tanya Harmon, who has lived on the block since August. "It took a minimum of six cops to get him in the car."

Angry neighbors emerged from homes and began deriding the suspect, Harmon said.

"They called him 'rapist' - every name in the book," Harmon said. "Everybody was screaming and crying. He [suspect] said, 'Shut up! Shut up!' "

Harmon said "a lot of stuff happens in this neighborhood so I'm not surprised. I'm just saddened."

Curtis Weaver Jr., who has lived on the block for 22 years, echoed Harmon's assessment.

"It's one of those things," he said. "I don't know what to say. It's sad. It just happened out of the blue."

Vanore called the assault "frightening. To pick on a 10-year-old like that is really tragic," he said. "It's a shame it had to happen."

The victim was admitted to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where he was in stable condition last night, authorities said.